My Sad Little Album Collection

On my second blog entry ever, I discussed my love of collecting albums.  Well, this definitely hasn't changed at all, and in fact, it's only gotten more exciting.  Upon my arrival to Montana this past week, I saw that my parents had graciously updated my album collection for me, and while I still have a collection that pales in comparison with theirs, I thought I'd share a few pictures I snapped of my collection.




The funny thing is my collection is still very full of music I listen to on a daily basis...

3 45's my parents have added to my collection- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Kylie Minogue (which was my favourite when I was a kid), and Prince.

Top Row, from left:

1. Scarecrow- by John Cougar Mellencamp

2. Planets Conspire- by The Meligrove Band

3. Wincing the Night Away- by The Shins

4. Paisley Park- by Prince

5. Purple Rain- by Prince

6. Rumours- by Fleetwood Mac

7. Live at Leeds- by The Who (which I just convinced my dad to give me after finding a duplicate in his collection)

Middle Row, from left:

8. Heart- by Heart
9. Diamond Life- by Sade
10. Thirty Seconds Over Winterland- by Jefferson Airplane
11. Precious Time- by Pat Benetar
12. Lone Justice- by Lone Justice

Bottom Row, from left:

13. Random Spirit Lover- by Sunset Rubdown
14. The Cure- by The Cure
15. Ill Communication- by The Beastie Boys

The two albums I would LOVE to add to my collection, but my dad refuses to gift them to me: Guns and Roses Appetite for Destruction, and The Who's Tommy.

A picture of my parents album collection, which is absolutely amazing.  I grew up in a very musical household, and one of these days when they aren't looking, I'm going to steal them all. 

Hipster Must-See: The Fall

I rarely have time to watch movies right now.  Between my internship, working full time, and the copious amounts of reading I've been doing, my usual love of movies has taken the backseat.  However, I had an opportunity to watch Tarsem Singh's The Fall a few days ago and I can't stop thinking about it.

The Fall is a period piece about a stuntman in 1920's Los Angeles that, while in a hospital, starts telling stories to another patient (a 5 year old immigrant named Alexandria).  Without going into too much detail, the real world they are living in begins to bleed into the fantasy world he is creating.

But who really cares about the plot?  What really matters is that this is one of the most visually stunning films I have watched in a very long time.  Having been shot in over 26 locations in 18 different countries, the beauty of this film is unparalleled.  It takes on a surrealist feel that is reminiscent of Dali and Buñuel, with the color palette of Burton.

The visuals in this movie were worth the two hours of my life.

Where Have All the Smart Girls Gone?

I am hoping for a cultural shift.  For some time now I have found myself extremely discontent with the way our society, particularly our pop culture and the figures we lionize.  Now I don't mean to get all hippy-dippy here, but hear me out.

I miss the 90s.  I miss the empowered female singers like Fiona Apple, Jewel, Liz Phair, and the like.  It used to be so cool for chicks to have a fuck you attitude towards both the men in their lives as well as the culture that reveres them.  I miss the fact that it used to be cool for chicks to be smart.  I miss Daria, and Tabitha Soren.

Fall Accessories Wishlist

It may not even be August yet, but I can't wait for the fall.  I have always been a much bigger fan of the fall than the summer.  It reminds me of new beginnings, school supplies, and a back-to-school wardrobe.  While I may not be able to afford a brand-new wardrobe, there are a few accessories I could probably splurge on here and there...

1. Anthropologie Dusky Roads Mary-Janes

2. Stella McCartney Boston Bag

3. Alex & Ani Tree of Life Bangles

4. Balenciaga Wallet

5. Frye Rogan Engineer Studded Boots

6. My Pet Octopus Necklace from Modcloth

7. La Mer Bali Stud Watch from Urban Outfitters

8. Kenneth Jay Lane chandelier earrings

9. Fur Felt Bullet Cloche from Hats in the Belfry

Can it be fall yet?

Pleasantly Surprised- The Pretty Reckless

Okay, so we all know that Taylor Momsen is really, really, really obnoxious.  In every interview she gives, she comes across as a rebellious, annoying, naive teen who will probably look back on what she said ten years from now and attribute it to being young.  That being said, I feel as though I had no right to say anything about her actual music talent until I listened to her band, The Pretty Reckless.

So I took to myspace for a listen.  And what I found, I was pleasantly surprised by.  Yes, she still sounds like a naive teenager with her lyrics about "someone mixing her medicine" (what your Adderall and Flinstone's Vitamins?) or "I'm just 16, if you know what I mean, do you mind if I take off my dress." Yes, that would be child pornography.


Either way, I will admit that the girl can sing, and the music is kinda fun.  And maybe her being so obnoxious appeals to the naive, rebellious teenager in me.  Ya know, the same one that metal band Kittie did appeal to in my younger age.  Or the one that Courtney Love still does appeal to.

But a word of advice:  Momsen, if you want your band to be taken seriously then stop talking.  Because with every interview you give, you lose credibility and make people hate you even more, and it doesn't matter how good of a musician you are, in this pop culture climate, you can't survive without an audience.

Hipster Must-Watch: The State

Thanks to the power of instantly streaming Netflix, I get the opportunity to rediscover a million shows that I never really knew existed.  One such show is The State, the short-lived sketch comedy show that I've heard buzzing about for a while.

This sketch comedy show that aired on MTV for 29 episodes launched the careers of Michael Ian Black, Thomas Lennon, and Ken Marino.  Sketch comedy, which was huge in the 90s, has somehow essentially died in our modern television (aside from SNL, but that's a duh).  The State brings us back to all that glory that made sketch comedy so cool in the 90s.  Sketches on government, the environment, and spoofs on popular television commercials remind me of my childhood.

The only problem is that watching The State has made me terribly nostalgic for MTV in the 1990s.  Ya know, the days of MTV Unplugged, Tabitha Soren, and actual music videos.  Pretty much everything before MTV decided it was going to worship the consumer-culture of spoiled brats and girls pregnant way before they should be.  The days when MTV had shows on that required actual talent.  When MTV actually had some sort of credibility as a subversive television station that broke the pop culture barriers and made it cool to be different (ahem, Daria).

Oh MTV, how I miss you.

Hipster Must-See: Brick

I am currently spending my days working for a small, independent film production company.  One of the perks to this job is that I get to spend hour watching independent films as part of my "research."  One of the films I kept hearing about over and over again was Brick.

Rian Johnson's 2005 crime mystery has an all-star cast of up-and-coming actors including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas (both hardly up-and-coming), Emilie de Ravin, Matt O'Leary, and Nora Zehetner.  Taking inspirations from old spaghetti westerns and "Cowboy Bebop," the visuals of this film are amazing.  The plot takes cues from old crime dramas and almost has a film noir feel to it, but all set in high school.  

Brick really is a film unlike very many I've seen in recent years.  I definitely suggest you take a couple hours and watch it.  And hey, it's streaming instant on Netflix, so no excuses!

Lukas Haas plays "The Pin," and his costume was modeled after Barnaby from Dark Shadows

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays our fierce hero and Nora Zehetner the not quite "damsel in distress"